The Giants came to town on Tuesday and will stay until after the
game Thursday, giving the 2 teams the opportunity to mix it up 3 times and
between them one of the teams will go into the weekend the wild card leader.
These games should the Phillies dominate, also help the Cardinals and the
Braves, should the wild card be needed by these teams.

The return of ‘Pat the Bat’ to the Bank was a warm
welcome by many fans, Pat also honored his return with a run long ball in the
1st, but was quieted by Oswalt after that…….

…..but was kept busy in left field his normal hunting
ground when he was with the Phillies.

The other player in a return to the Bank was the
Phillies 2nd baseman Chase Utley…..

…..he may have been dormant in his return, but it’s good to
see the familiar moves at 2nd base and the ease in which he slipped right back
into his role, although tonight should see him batting in his regular 3 spot
against Matt Cain.

Useless stats 101 – Tuesday’s game against the Giants saw
the Phillies start a 24 game stint with out a day off till September 9th, in the
middle they have a double header against the Marlins. The 24 games will see the
Phillies play at home then travel to the west coast with no travel day, then
after 6 games travel back to the Bank stopping in Colorado on the way. Get ready
for some jet lag at the plate…

You guys might have a chance no that Utley is back…but not is Albert Pujols has anything to say about it. Actually, I still like the Phils in the East and the Birds in the Central, so the Braves, Reds and Giants can fight over the WC. http://stlcardinals06.mlblogs.com/

Peter,
I still think the Rays did Pat Burrell a major injustice by not letting him play in the field except for a handful of games.
He has shown fully that he has a better chance to get into the flow of the game by playing in the field than sitting, then trying to hit the ball a long way still kind of cold from sitting on the bench.
Hopefully this weekend the G-men will not dominate and the Phillies can establish a little wedge between themselves and the other National League Wild Card hopefuls.
But in the end, it would be better if they caught the Braves and let everyone else sweat out the WC.

Peter,
I just hope someone knocks the Giants out of the WC race.
August 30, 31, and Sept 1st, the Phillies come to town. The 1st is a 12:10 game here. I will probably take the day off. I mean what are the options? being cooped up at work or enjoying a day at the ballgame with Vin serenating me. I’ll take #2.
Emmahttp://crzblue.mlblogs.com